A long silence fell upon them. Cheng Sheng’s words coincided with what they had seen. Only that they didn’t think of this matter that it might actually be related to the demonic cultivation. “The demonic sects… they were too quiet lately.” Wu Fan said. “I suspected they might be planning something. But, if this is it – ” he said, his brows knit.

Ming Ye and Luo Shi’s face is grave. Chen Han fell silent when he realized the severity of the matter. “My fellow disciples…” he said as he sharply inhaled, his eyes tearing up. They were affected by the demonic qi. The hope earlier has now dimmed. The already gloomy hall became gloomier.

“Chen-shixiong…” Feng Mo sympathetically looked at Chen Han.

“We shouldn’t lose hope.” Li Tian spoke. They turned to him. “We have Cheng-shidi.” He said and looked at Cheng Sheng. “Last time when we were attacked at the inn in the Dongxin Town, Dongfang Xiaoyun was scratched by the strange corpse. Cheng-shidi applied the Cleansing Talisman on him. The scratch might be lighter than a bite from the strange corpse, but… but the Cleansing Talisman still worked. Dongfang Xiaoyun became fine.” He explained, his eyes shining in hope. They brought Dongfang Xiaoyun to the authorities of the Dongxin Town before they left to travel to Xiwang. They already told the authorities to contact them if Dongfang Xiaoyun would do something strange or act weird. However, they didn’t hear anything from them.

They all turned to Cheng Sheng. That’s right. They still have Cheng Sheng. Cheng Sheng can be called a master alchemist. He is a genius. This made up for his low cultivation.

Cheng Sheng bowed before he spoke. “My current Cleansing Talisman can only be used against the negative qi. Sometimes it might not be sufficient.” He said. “Dongfang Xiaoyun was also only lightly scratched. Fortunately, the Cleansing Talisman was able to cure him. However, against the heavy negative qi, and now the demonic qi, my Cleansing Talisman isn’t on par with it.” He explained.

The hope was once again extinguished by Cheng Sheng’s words. He guiltily lowered his head and covered himself with his fan.

“However – ” Cheng Sheng said. ” – if we can upgrade the Cleansing Talisman, then we may be able to cure them.” He said and smiled.

Their face lit up and they looked at him filled with hope once again. “How do we upgrade it?” they asked.

Cheng Sheng pondered. “For now, we can test it by increasing the amount of qi and see its effect to the people contaminated by the demonic qi.” He said. “I can teach you on how to create a Cleansing Talisman. Then, we can do trial-and-error.” He told them.

They can’t be any more grateful than this. It’s one thing to recreate the Cleansing Talisman. However, it’s entirely a different matter if Cheng Sheng will teach them how to make it. It’s as good as the original one.

“Also – ” Cheng Sheng said. ” – I need stronger people to do this. My Cleansing Talismans are short-lived since I have low cultivation. The effect of the talisman depends on the cultivation of its maker. And we really needed to infuse more qi to the talismans.” He explained.

“We’ll do that.” Wu Fan decided. “We’ll have the Chen and Wu families, as well as the other elders of the sect to assist you.” He told Cheng Sheng. “Is there anything else that you need?” he asked.

Cheng Sheng looked at him. “Mone – mmf!” he said when Feng Mo immediately covered his mouth. He frowned and removed Feng Mo’s hand. “The bigger the number, the higher the possibility.” He answered. “We can set the level of the people who’ll participate to be from the Golden Core Stage and higher.” He said. “We needed to ensure the success of this task.” He added.

Wu Fan nodded and patted Cheng Sheng’s shoulder. “Then, we will do that.” He said and sighed in relief. Ming Ye and Luo Shi nodded in satisfaction.

“I can help.” Fei Yin said and looked at Feng Mo and Li Tian.

“Ai. We’re almost there – ” Feng Mo sighed. “We’ll help by bringing food to Cheng-shidi.” He said.

Li Tian nodded. “I’ll give him my qi so he won’t feel tired.” He said and smiled.

Chen Han hugged Cheng Sheng. “Thank you… Ah Sheng.” He said and hugged him tighter.

Cheng Sheng felt the hairs on his body stood up and he froze. However, he can’t push Chen Han away while under the stare of the three seniors before them. Only the three others – Fei Yin, Feng Mo and Li Tian knew that he’s cursing in his mind.

Chen Han chuckled as he kissed Cheng Sheng’s forehead. He stared at his younger brother, his eyes full of emotions. “Mother and Father will be proud. We can now let go of our regret not stopping you from leaving.” He said. “Your study in Xinfaxian Sect… it’s the greatest honor the Chen family received.” He told him.

No. I am just a transmigrator. Nothing else. Cheng Sheng thought and just sighed. He’ll let go of the matter of Chen Han eating tofu right now. He’ll settle the score with Chen Han after this problem is solved.

————

“Aia. So this is Sheng-er?” Sun Yi said when he finally met the infamous second young master Chen of the Xiwang. “Really cute.” He said and pinched Cheng Sheng’s face. “I’m glad you turned out as a genius unlike Chen-shixiong, your elder brother.” He told Cheng Sheng.

“What do you mean by that, Sun-shidi?” Chen Han frowned when he heard Sun Yi’s words.

“Chen-shidi.” Wu Yuan nodded at Cheng Sheng as a greeting. Cheng Sheng nodded back as an acknowledgement. Wu Yuan is famous for being cold. He’s more taciturn than Fei Yin.

“Wu-shixiong. Sun-shixiong. The elders are waiting inside now.” Cheng Sheng said and led them inside the Meditation Hall where he will teach them how to make the Cleansing Talisman.

It’s not that the others can’t create their own Cleansing Talisman. It’s just that, despite Cheng Sheng’s Cleansing Talisman is short-lived, but it is purer than any other Cleansing Talismans. That is why Cheng Sheng’s Cleansing Talisman is sought-after by those disturbed by their thoughts or have inner demons. Just that, Cheng Sheng isn’t that much famous unlike his Cleansing Talisman since only few people know of him and that he’s the creator of the Cleansing Talisman. The invention being more famous than its inventor is just normal. It’s not as if it’s the inventor they will use instead of the invention, ba?

“Sheng-er.” Chen Jing and Chen Qing called when they finally saw Cheng Sheng. They immediately hugged him tight to the point he almost suffocated. Chen Jing is Chen Han and the original Chen Sheng’s father and Chen Qing is their mother. Chen Jing is the patriarch of the Chen family after Chen Fu, his father, abdicated his position to spend more time with his wife, Chen Mie. The old couple were silently sitting on the side, smiling at their family’s reunion.

Chen Han turned and saw Li Tian, Feng Mo and Fei Yin walking inside. He immediately pulled Li Tian, who was caught in surprise, and he showed him to his parents. “Mom. Dad.” Chen Han called after Chen Jing and Cheng Qing finished hugging Cheng Sheng. “This is Li Tian. He’ll be my wife!” he told them.

The couple was stunned speechless of Chen Han’s sudden declaration. Li Tian, who was at the center, froze. A second later and his face went red. He turned and punched Chen Han, who didn’t even resist. This commotion was forgotten later when Wu Fan, Ming Ye and Luo finally arrived together with the elders of the Youxiwang Sect and the Wu family. The two sides greeted each other. Wu Fan gave a few words before he left everything to Cheng Sheng – the prodigy of the Xinfaxian Sect and Chen family.

Cheng Sheng took out a Cleansing Talisman and threw it in the air. Then, Feng Mo and Li Tian, standing on both sides of Cheng Sheng, made the talisman grew bigger for everyone to see. “This is a sample of the Cleansing Talisman.” Cheng Sheng said, loud and clear. The talisman is made of an ordinary paper and ink. “A talisman was made from the maker’s thoughts and power. The efficiency of the talisman depends on the thought and power of the maker. Our goal this time is to make it more efficient by increasing its power.” He made Li Tian and Feng Mo turn the Cleansing Talisman. The talisman’s edges have obscure lines. This is one of the reasons why the recreation of the Cleansing Talisman is impossible. The inner part of the talisman was filled with words which the characters they couldn’t make out. One reason is that they don’t recognize the words. Second, Cheng Sheng’s handwriting is… ehem. Unique. “I will tell you how to draw the lines and how to write the words.” He continued. “Then, I will tell you the core words of the talisman so that you can understand more of its use.” He told them. “After you perfected the copying of the lines and the characters, I will tell you the essence of the talisman.” He told them.

“Can’t you tell it to us now?” one of the elders from the Wu family asked. He has no malice when he asked that.

Cheng Sheng stared at them as they waited for his answer. “Well, alright.” He said and shrugged. He made Feng Mo and Li Tian shrink the size of the sample of the Cleansing Talisman before he made them make many copies of it.

“Sheng-er. What is the essence of the Cleansing Talisman?” Chen Mie asked.

“It’s the core words of the Cleansing Talisman.” Cheng Sheng said as Feng Mo and Li Tian distributed to the elders the copy of the Cleansing Talisman.

“And the core words are?” Wu Fan asked, curious.

Cheng Sheng faced him. “I am pure. Nothing can taint me.” He answered.

The elders felt like they were slapped to reality. Feng Mo and Li Tian froze as they distributed the fake talismans. They suddenly felt like burning the talismans in their hands.

Sun Yi, the odd one, laughed. “And the other words were?” he asked. He actually finds Cheng Sheng amusing.

Cheng Sheng turned to him. “My soul is holy. It cannot be tainted.” He answered.

Sun Yi burst out laughing while the elders felt like they cannot take the task. Indeed, they should have waited to finish copying the lines and the characters before they asked the meaning of the Cleansing Talisman.

Cheng Sheng just shrugged as took the steamed bun Fei Yin gave him earlier. Ah, he suddenly felt hungry.